Cole Schmidtknecht, 22, passed away on Jan. 21, 2024, after a sudden $500 spike in his asthma medication. A year to the day of his death, Cole’s parents, Shanon and William Schmidtknecht filed a lawsuit against Walgreens and a pharmacy benefits management company, Optum Rx.
According to the lawsuit, Cole had attempted to buy his daily inhaler doses of Advair Diskus in a Walgreens pharmacy in Appleton on Jan. 10. He was informed that the cost of refilling his prescription had jumped from $66 out-of-pocket to $539. He was unable to afford the new cost of the medication and left the pharmacy without it. Cole attempted to get by on his rescue inhaler, but less than a week after he failed to obtain his medication, he suffered a fatal asthma attack and passed away six days later in the hospital.
The Schmidtknechts allege in the lawsuit that Optum Rx violated Wisconsin law by failing to provide the 30 days advance notice of the drug’s increase in price and by raising the cost of the medication without a valid medical reason.
Optum Rx is a pharmacy benefits manager, which acts as an intermediary between health insurance companies, prescription drug companies and pharmacies. The lawsuit alleges that Walgreens pharmacy staff failed to offer Cole any solutions to obtain his medication. They informed him there were no cheaper alternatives or generic medications available, in addition to never contacting his doctor to request an exception for him.
The Schmidtknechts’ attorney, Michael Trunk, said in a statement to news outlets that “the conduct of both Optum Rx and Walgreens was deplorable. The evidence in this case will show that both Optum Rx and Walgreens put profits first and are directly responsible for Cole’s death.”
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages, and a court date has not yet been set.
